


In with the New

by MothWings (Gingersnapped)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, One Shot, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 20:53:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11216079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gingersnapped/pseuds/MothWings
Summary: Things are great, then sour, then wonderful all on Lena's Birthday.





	In with the New

January in England was exceptionally cold, and the weather did not clear just because it was Lena Oxton’s birthday. If Emily had her way that would be different, but Lena supposed that would be the case nine times out of ten if Emily were in charge.

Lena smiled in her girlfriend's direction, almost distracted from her in depth story by Emily herself. Emily had decided months ago to make a reservation to one of Lena's favorite places to eat (though it was not required, insisted staff), and invited an in town friend along with Angela Zeigler who happened to be nearby in the past week. Getting in and settling down had been a little messy, as it went over Emily’s head how well known her girlfriend was as a “former” agent of Overwatch. Even though the group had been dismantled publically, Tracer definitely had more than a small number of fans even today.

At the moment, everyone (with the exception of their mutual friend Thomas who is an Omnic) was finishing up their food while Emily captivated her audience with a history lesson. Lena leaned her cheek into one hand and flattened herself on the table while staring at her girlfriend with adoration. This was a feat in itself while wearing the Chronal Accelerator, but she managed to make due.

Lena exhaled through her nose and smiled in Emily’s direction, a little distracted from Emily’s story by the woman herself. Lena wondered what life would be like had this red haired angel not stepped into her life. She thanked whoever was responsible for putting Em in her path the day she literally wandered into her life. She turned one of the worst days in Lena's life into a better future.

“-right love?”

What?

Lena straightened up and blinked. Everyone happened to be looking in her direction for some sort of response. Apparently she was more distracted than she originally thought.

“Sorry Em, what was that? I didn't hear you.” Lena said after clearing her throat.

Emily laughed. “Babe, you were looking right at me. It was around 7 when Thomas and I found you? On.. You know, after the tragedy with Mondatta.”

Oh. Lena blinked again. Speak of coincidences..

“Uh, yeah! I think it was around 7, maybe it was later? It was pretty dark out at the time…” Lena scratched her jaw absently.

Angela motioned with her hands furiously from across the round table. “I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t have asked how you met had I known-”

“It is alright Angela,” Thomas spoke up, which was surprising to Lena because the Omnic was a Listener in most public settings, especially with new people. “The loss of Tekhartha Mondatta was very great, and caused much pain through the world. He was, and still is, a great being in the eyes of many. Forgetting that his death occurred will tarnish his memory, as the truth is what he held dearest.”

Lena’s eyebrows rose. Thomas wasn’t super religious, and all three of them held high respects for Mondatta before and after death. However, this was the most he’d spoken about the subject. Emily was just nodding her agreement.

“You’re quite right, Thomas,” Angela said, smiling again. “Winston and I knew about the incident with...Miss Lacroix, of course, but I had not realized that you both met Lena that very night.”

“It was definitely surprising,” Emily’s face made a funny smile. “Thomas and I were quickly trying to get each other home after the attack, trying to stay out of sight just in case this was something larger scale. No one had no idea what was going on!”

“Quite true,” Thomas’ voice whirred. He pointed at Lena’s Chronal Accelerator as he continued. “It was the low light and sparks coming off of you that alerted my visual sensors. I had thought maybe it was a dangerous machine for more destruction, I did not imagine we would find Tracer of the former Overwatch Organization.”

“Well, Lena is quite dangerous and ready for destruction when she has too much coffee, I am sure miss Emily can back up my claim.” Angela interrupted with a dry look at Lena.

Thomas let out a belly laugh as Lena put covered her hands in her face. She was 300% sure that Emily was giving her the same exact look that Angela was. Incidents that she did not think would happen twice _did_ and she swore herself off of coffee and only drank tea like a good English woman from that moment on.

“Please Angela,” Lena groaned and uncovered her face. “Have _mercy_ on me.”

Angela’s expression somehow got drier. “That is not funny, Lena.”

“It’s a _little_ funny.” Lena replied sheepishly.

“Anyway,” Emily laughed and patted Thomas on the shoulder. “This guy just about flung me behind him because he thought Lena was a bomb or something. But once we figured out who she was and that she needed help we picked her up and hurried back to my apartment as quickly as we could.”

“You mean to say you had _me_ pick up her near unconscious body the whole way.” Thomas mentioned.

“Awe, Thomas,” Lena gave the Omnic her puppy gaze. “I didn’t realize you were my knight in shining armor.” She laughed as he flexed his small frame.

“So! That means it was your voice, Thomas, that was trying to contact us. Is that correct?” Angela inquired to toward Thomas.

“Yes, it was! Though to be honest I did not know what to expect when you gave me that number, Lena. Especially as your body did not know if it existed or not.”

“I’m not really sure how he coped,” Emily told Angela. “Honestly? My nerves were shot, there was this injured girl with this machine strapped to her that we had _no_ idea what the purpose of it was. To top it off, when we tried to take it off of her she began to _disappear._ ”

Lena shuddered to think about what would have happened if the Chronal Accelerator was taken off of her completely. Being stuck in the stream of time was not something she wanted to experience again. She was still trying to handle the memories in her head and it hurt to even begin to understand what she experienced and _when._ Lena busied herself from her thoughts by putting her hand on Emily’s. In response, Emily’s thumb stroked Lena’s hand softly while she spoke.

“I’m shocked I didn’t have a strong drink by the time Thomas finally left. Even if that was 6AM.”

“It sounded like everyone could have used one.” Angela chuckled.

Lena laughed too.“It was...a pretty hectic night. But you both saved me. Maybe even from being stuck in time again.” She gave Emily’s hand a small squeeze. Emily smiled and squeezed back as if to say _I’m glad you’re here too._ Lena was once again enamored with this wonderful, beautiful, incredible woman that stumbled into her life to make it perfect.

Emily suddenly glanced left and choked. Lena turned to find what made her emit the noise and scrunched her nose when she found Angela making a very sappy face toward the two women next to her.

“Oh my god Ange, you’re like a mom during prom night.” Lena whined.

“I can’t help it, I don’t get to see you often and I didn’t realize you would both be so _cute!_ ” Angela Zeigler wasn’t someone who normally fawned over baby animals, or even babies in general, so Lena supposed she should take this as a compliment.

Thomas waved his hand. “They’re incorrigible aren’t they? It cannot be helped. The two of them connect their souls and become twitterpated at least three times a day when you are _with_ them. Who knows how they get anything done in private.”

Emily sat back in her chair and stuck her tongue out at her friend. Lena sat up too, she suddenly had an idea.

“Say, Angela,” Lena smiled crookedly and pushed some sass into her tone. “I forgot to ask, how is Fareeha doing?”

Angela immediately went ramrod straight in her seat and her eyebrows shot up. “I...suppose she is doing just fine, Lena.”

“Uh huh, yeah,” Lena nodded knowingly. “ _Just_ fine. As in, the last letter Reinhardt sent to me said  Fareeha was just fine enough to visit you for an uninterrupted _week_ at your-”

“Yes, well, I suppose it is getting late and I _do_ have to visit the hospital one last time to make sure their supplies are in order before I head back to...Iraq.” Angela coughed and fixed her already perfect hair. “Which is where I’m volunteering right now. For reasons you already know about. Lena!”

Lena had covered her mouth to hide her bubbling laughter, Emily close behind her after getting the gist of what was going on.

Thomas gave a sigh. “You are all so _homosexual._ ”

Emily snorted loudly and Lena lost all of her self control. Angela reluctantly joined them in their laughter as Thomas shook his head.

While the women paid for their meal, Thomas paid a what he could for the seating and service. Being an Omnic in London didn’t give you the best livelihood, but he insisted he wanted to the restaurant for their kindness somehow. The small group thanked the staff as they headed out the door, and exchanged pleasantries and goodbyes across the street, Angela bouncing on her toes from the cold as she hailed a taxi.

The three waved to the taxi until it was out of sight, Lena shouting goodbye to the speeding car despite knowing Angela couldn’t hear her anymore. Emily laughed at her girlfriend’s antics and Thomas chuckled along.

As they walked down the familiar, snow lined path the silence was broken only by their footsteps. Lena thought about how close these two were to her, knew so much about her, and yet…

There were things she never wanted them to know. Things that she never wanted to say out loud. Things that Angela Zeigler absolutely knew, helped her through, and would never tell a soul.

If she could spare her friend and partner any more tragedy in their lives, Lena would do anything to keep it that way. _Even if,_ Lena thought as she held Emily’s hand, _if I need to join Overwatch again in secret._

“You know,” Thomas’ voice hummed through the quiet cold air. “I am very glad that you still have people like Angela in your life, and this Reinhardt. It is very important to keep ties to your past, even if you don’t live that part of yourself any longer.”

Lena turned sharply to her Omnic friend. More coincidences. He looked at Lena with, of course, no expression on his face. Regardless of that, two words repeated themselves in Lena’s brain on repeat.

_He knows._

“Well, this is my corner to the Underground. Be safe on the rest of your journey home, both of you.” Thomas waved leisurely at his two friends, and took off to his own home.

“You too Thomas, have a good night!” Emily called out cheerfully.

“Yeah, see you Tom!” Lena called out more quietly. Her mind was buzzing.

The rest of the walk home was quick and uneventful. The two women climbed the stairs in their building and got through the front door before Emily swooped in to kiss Lena.

Lena gave a surprised “mmph!” and cupped Emily’s face in turn. It was sweet, and soft, just as Emily always was.

The redhead gave a giggle. “I’ve been waiting to do that.”

“What? You can kiss me outside too, you goof.” Lena smiled at Emily in amusement.

“Lena,” Emily said exasperatedly as she put away her coat and moved to the bedroom. “Do you _want_ me to get rushed by your jealous and very adoring fans? It would be in the papers. ‘Young woman trampled by saucy and envious fanbase’.”

“Pfffft. Saucy and envious. It has to be the opposite because you are doing a very good job of keeping them at bay.” Lena also moved to put her shoes and coat away, depositing her Chronal Accelerator in its charging station.

“Well, of course babe, I didn’t say I wouldn’t go down _fighting_.” Emily called from their very small walk in closet. “Honesty it’s a good thing glares do not actually maim, or else I really would be in trouble.”

Lena quickly changed into her pajamas and jumped onto their queen mattress. “Too right, I’d definitely be in trouble with how much glaring you do.”

A sound of sharp objection came from the closet, followed by the click of the light switch being turned off. Emily walked into the room and also threw herself on the bed, sleep shirt bunching at her stomach as she laid next to her girlfriend.

“Lena Oxton you are so cheeky,” Emily smiled at Lena, their eyes at the same level only inches apart. Lena kissed Emily’s nose and stroked he shoulder.

“Thanks for such a great birthday, love.” Lena said quietly.

“I wish I could do more for- Oh! Drat!” Emily wrinkled her nose and sighed. “We were having such a good time at The Grill that I absolutely forgot I wanted time to give you your present.”

“You already gave me a gift, Emily. The coat was fantastic, certainly kept me warm tonight.” Lena was confused. Did Emily get her something else as well?

“Well, I mean. This is a different sort of gift. You know. It’s _that_ sort of gift.” Emily raised her eyebrows couple of times to Lena’s blank stare.

“...Oh. Oh!....Oohh.” Lena’s cognitive thought was extremely plain on her face. A smirk graced her face. “Can you just show it to me? Is it unwrappable?...Is it you?”

“I’ll show you tomorrow, yes it is, no it is _not_ you sap.” Emily laughed. “I mean, if you consider me participating as part of the gift then I suppose I would be.”

Lena wiggled in the bed. “Why can’t I open it now? Just a peak. This is birthday abuse.”

“You’re such a baby.” Emily kissed Lena’s nose this time and lifted the covers to settle her head on Lena’s shoulder. “It’s a whole thing, trust me, you’ll understand tomorrow.”

“Well, I trust your judgement, present hog.” Lena felt Emily’s soft laughter against her side and stroked Emily’s mid length hair.

They lay like that for a couple of minutes just enjoying each other’s company. It was a comfortable silence, until Emily suddenly pushed herself up to lean on her elbows and her expression made Lena’s heart stop.

She stared at Lena, shifting her gaze to focus on one hazel eye to the other.

“Angela wasn’t really in town to visit the King’s Row hospital, was she?”

_Shit._

Emily wasn’t stupid. Lena would brag about her wit for days, even if it was her downfall for secrecy.

Lena didn’t insult Emily by lying. “No, she wasn’t.”

More staring. “Is Overwatch being started again?”

“Eh...I wouldn’t say that…” Lena grimaced and looked away. “Angela would like it very much if it did not-”

“Lena.”

“It’s very complicated, that is the honest truth.” Lena looked at Emily earnestly. “Winston wants to gain operatives again because there are some very bad people who are doing a lot of harm to others.”

“Like Amelie.” Emily whispered. She’d heard Widowmaker’s story enough times.

“Yes. Innocent people are being jeopardized, and Winston believes that, even in secret, we can do a lot of good to protect the public. Besides that, I feel like I’d owe him forever. Even if he doesn’t think so.

Lena took a deep breath. "The day you found me, the reason that my Chronal Accelerator was on the fritz, I was on the rooftops trying to stop Widowmaker from killing Mondatta. I failed. Even with that thought constantly in my head I have to keep helping people, Emily."

The silence was back, but this time it came with tension. Unspoken words rested above Lena’s head and she nearly shivered despite how warm it was in the bed.

“I don’t want to lose you.” Emily whispered in the quiet and dark room. “I can’t lose you, Lena.”

Lena sat up and gathered Emily into her arms and kissed the side of her head. She began to speak softly into Emily’s ear, head resting on he shoulder.

“I know...this is probably not what you imagined when you thought you’d be with someone. I know my case is a very strange one, and I can’t thank you enough for being there for me and accepting me for who I am when you could have a normal life. I promise I won’t do anything terribly reckless, and I will always find my way home to you. But if that becomes too much to bear...I understand.”

Emily sniffled. _Oh no._ The thought of her crying drew pinpricks to Lena’s eyes. Emily pulled back from Lena’s embrace and took her face in her hands.

“Lena Oxton,” Emily began with an utmost seriousness. “I’ve come to care about you so much, I am deeply in love with you, and even if I had your timey-wimey nonsense I wouldn’t turn back the years to find someone else. There is only one you, and I’d make that choice to walk down that alley, that night, every time.”

This time, Lena’s vision did pool with tears. A pressure she didn’t realize she had was released and she wondered how long she was holding onto it. Lena brought her lips to Emily’s own to softly kiss her as she shut her eyes, a few tears escaping them to run down her cheek. Emily’s hand, still on Lena’s face, wiped them away with her thumb as she felt them cascading down.

“You know,” Emily laughed through another sniffle as they pulled apart. “This was _not_ how I imagined the rest of the night was going to go.”

“What kind of lesbian couple would we be if we didn’t get our quota of crying before going to bed.” Lena joked and rubbed her eyes properly with her palms. She somehow felt much lighter.

“You’re right, my mistake. I’ll make sure to mark it off our Lesbian Movie Stereotype spreadsheet.” Emily smiled and lay back down on her pillow. “Sorry that I ended your birthday with drama.”

“No, honestly, I’m glad that the cat’s out of the bag.” Lena sighed. “At least now I don’t have to lie to you. I’m pretty sure that Thomas knows too.”

Emily huffed. “Oh yeah, don’t get me started. _That_ conversation can wait.”

“Fair enough.” Lena laughed. She adjusted herself and the comforter to make sure both she and Emily were covered evenly.

The two women lay in bed, exhaustion from the very concentrated discussion apparent in Emily; she was asleep in minutes. Alone in the conscious world, Lena took in all of Emily’s features. From every freckle, her red and brown eyelashes, and beautifully curved brows. Lena traced the edges of her face with her eyes and felt such a strong sense of belonging. Of being _home_.

Lena gave Emily one last gentle kiss before she made to go to sleep herself. The words “I love you” trailing from her lips to the woman she loved most in her entire life.

**Author's Note:**

> "I won't endanger myself" says Lena, as she is sent to the Moon.
> 
> So this started out as a NSFW fic, and that will happen in a separate part 2, but instead this entire warm fic of understanding and support happened. Which, I'm starting to understand, is becoming a reoccurring theme in my writing.
> 
> If you see any mistakes feel free to PM me if you'd like to point them out, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
